The Beartooth Market is known for giving back—during the holidays and all year round. Recently, Rod Bastian and Shawn Halvorsen of Beartooth Market shared how they are partnering with the local food bank this holiday season to help local families in need.

“Beartooth Market has been in Red Lodge for 35 years now, and we really feel it's important to be a part of the community we serve,” said Bastian. “That's why when we read an article about a grocery store in North Carolina doing a community food drive and the great success they had, we thought hey we can do that here in Red Lodge! We are happy to have the opportunity to make a difference to so many people during the holidays.”

To get started, Beartooth Market have partnered with Baretooth Cupboards, for its community food drive to reach those in need.

“We worked with our suppliers to get the bags and non-perishable food items to fill the bags. We are offering a $10 pre-filled bag of groceries that the local food bank needs to help local families,” said Bastian.

“We've made it really easy for the shopper: all they have to do is pick up the pre-filled bag, pay for it at the register with their other groceries, then drop it off at the collection area at the front of the store and Beartooth Market will deliver the bags to Baretooth Cupboards,” he said.

The customer’s $10 donation buys over $15 in groceries or they can just buy a few extra items and place them in the designated cart at the front of the store.

“We started running the promotion in our store on Dec. 4, and with only some in-store signage, the pre-filled bags on display in the store, and a little word of mouth, we've already collected over 100 bags so far! That means we're well on our way to our goal of 300 bags by the end of the year,” said Bastian.

The drive ends Dec. 31. “We want to be there for the community, and this program has shown us that our customers feel exactly the same way!” he said.

“It’s amazing. It’s $1,500 of food in one week,” said Tammy Novakovich, President of BareTooth Cupboards. “I’m not going to have to buy groceries for a long time. Everything is all new.”

There will be a Food Drive in the Beartooth Market Foyer, Dec. 14, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. hosted by FM 99 The Mountain.